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Deasy to LAUSD Administrators: I’m Staying on the Job
John Deasy isn’t leaving. In his annual address to LA Unified administrators, the LASUSD Superintendent addressed head-on recent reports that his rocky relationship with the school board may lead to his resignation or removal. “A lot of chatter this summer, if you read blogs or read newspapers,” he said, “So let’s clear that up really quickly:...
By Hillel Aron | August 8, 2013
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Slim Gains, Slight Drop in English for LA Unified in CA Test Scores
Scores from statewide California tests taken by LA Unified students in the 2012-2013 academic year were only slightly higher than results from the year before. While the gains were more modest than in previous years, they still reflected overall improvement while the state average fell by a fraction of a percentage point. “We’ve outpaced the...
By Hillel Aron | August 8, 2013
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California Student Test Scores Coming Later This Morning
The clock is ticking. California’s annual review of how students are doing are only minutes away. Known as the STAR Program, for Standardized Testing and Reporting, it’s an alphabet soup of separate assessments, covering various subjects and administered to 4.7 million students in grades two through eleven. The scores will tell us how much better or...
By LA School Report | August 8, 2013
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California’s 2013 Testing Results to be Released Thursday
It’s almost that time of year again. No, not school opening – that’s next week. Test scores. California’s annual review of how students are doing will be released on Thursday. Known as the STAR Program, for Standardized Testing and Reporting, it’s an alphabet soup of separate assessments, covering various subjects and administered to 4.7 million...
By LA School Report | August 7, 2013
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The ‘California 8’ Waiver: What it Means for Local Schools
The No Child Left Behind waiver won by Los Angeles Unified and seven other California school districts gives them more funding and flexibility to improve schools that serve more than a million students around the state. The waiver is a one-of-a-kind, as it marks the first time a group of districts were exempted from “No...
By Brianna Sacks | August 7, 2013
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No Child Left Behind Waiver for CA Districts Includes ‘Unique’ Oversight Panel*
In granting eight CA school districts a No Child Left Behind waiver, the federal government is creating for the first time an oversight body to measure schools’ progress. Education Secretary Arne Duncan called the panel “unique” among the waivers granted to 39 states and the District of Columbia. “We went back and forth about how...
By Brianna Sacks | August 6, 2013
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‘No Child’ Waiver OKd for LA Unified, 7 Other CA School Districts*
The U.S. Department of Education today approved a long-awaited federal waiver that allows LA Unified and seven other California districts to replace No Child Left Behind accountability rules with their own school improvement system. The waiver creates a unique 14-member oversight body to provide an “unbiased external compliance review” of each district’s progress after a...
By Brianna Sacks | August 6, 2013
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Rick Jacobs Joins Garcetti’s Team
Mayor Eric Garcetti today announced the appointment of Rick Jacobs as his administration’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations. Jacobs, a political operative who runs the California grassroots advocacy organization, Courage Campaign, will oversee the Mayor’s communications, external affairs, scheduling, protocol and strategic partnership, according to a press release issued by City Hall. In April, Jacobs...
By LA School Report | August 6, 2013
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LA Teachers Get Their Hands on the Future as iPad Era Begins
More than 100 elementary school teachers from around the Los Angeles school district gathered Monday at Theodore Roosevelt High School in east LA as one of the first group of instructors to learn how to use the Apple iPad, a key teaching device in the academic year that opens next Tuesday. These K-through-6 teachers were...
By Brenda Iasevoli | August 6, 2013
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UTLA Factions Lining Up to Oust Fletcher as President
Campaign season for UTLA began in ernest this weekend at the union’s annual leadership conference with one slate of members emerging as the leading opposition group to incumbents and other candidates testing the waters. “Unions have to be unified to do whatever they do,” said LAUSD Adult Education teacher Matthew Kogan. “But democratic processes are divisive. We...
By Hillel Aron | August 6, 2013